Trident
A trident is a troop unit consisting of 12 to 16 . It is the fourth smallest unit in the Covenant military, after the , , and dagger, and roughly equivalent to the squad and the . Tridents tend to be combined units made from two lances under a single leader, and as such are rarely seen in conventional battles, but commonly formed by the during joint missions. History The trident weapon ("Tikushma" in Sangheilian Common) is a important ceremonial tool in many Sangheili clans, representing prosperity and readiness for battle. The Sangheili trident takes on the uses of both human tridents and pitchforks, having a triple use as a farming, fishing, and combat tool. It is one of the earliest known of Sangheili weapons, and its pronged form had an influence on the design of other Sangheili weapons, such as the . During the creation of the "United Warriors of Sanghelios", the national union formed in response to the , the name "trident" was chosen to represent the third unit of the Sangheilian military chain. Its large size of up to 16 warriors was represented by the long staff making up a trident's handle, and the three prongs standing for the three units making up the joint team. The two outside prongs represented the two lances that were being combined to form this larger unit. The middle prong stood for the trident's leader, who, to lead a trident, had to be considered by his superiors to be a warrior equal to an entire lance. The earliest trident units actually wielded trident weapons into battle, and after the war it and all other United Warriors units were repurposed into the Covenant's military hierarchy. Organization and Uses Tridents are rarely formed for wide-scale assaults, since the Covenant's generals has favored swarm tactics for the duration of the . As such, the fine points of invasions tend to be dealt with by lances, while the Sangheili legions or Unggoy army bear the main brunt of the battle. However, in the Covenant Special Operations, tridents and lances are more common because the precise nature of their missions. In those, lances are used for stealth while tridents are favored for sudden attacks, being small enough to infiltrate, yet large enough to handle multiple obstacles. Tridents are usually made from combined lances, and the union is often temporary. Both teams retain their previous members and commanders, but are usually led by a new leader, either a ship officer of at least an or a , depending on the mission. Unlike lances, tridents are not divided into "Major-Minor-Ultra" tiers, where warriors of one rank are grouped into one team. Instead, official tridents require the lances involved to be led by an Ultra or higher, and all tridents formed are considered equal. No "third prong" of an officer is assigned on occasions where Ultra-less lower lances cooperate like a single team, and the lesser lance is simply led by the higher ranked one. Because of their deliberate formation compared to lances and files, tridents tend to be more reverential units with a great deal of inter-battle ceremony. The nature of these ceremonies can vary, ranging from pre-mission blessings to warrior challenges, including meditation and endurance feats. Temporary tridents intended for only a few missions involve only one uniting ceremony, and conclude their partnership with a lance-on-lance battle, the winning team staying under the leadership of the trident's commanding officer. Although the number of personnel in a trident equals about that of a UNSC squad, its role is more akin to that of a platoon, due to the formidability of Sangheili soldiers. Specific roles, such as grenadier or sniper or pilot, tend to be shared and overall the warriors' specialities overlap. This creates a versatile team capable of handling many variables, and able to split off into many self-dependant lances and daggers. Attacking with a trident favors sudden attack, distractions, confusion, and a quick surrounding of the opposition. Flanking is the key tactic, and aggression a vital quality. Tridents are exclusively Sangheili units, almost never involving the participation of other species. Occasionally a Special Operations trident may include non-Elites, such as a , a few , or a are assigned, but these are kept into only an affliated file that's only commanded by the main team, not assigned to it. The only notable exception is the Trident of Revelation, which integrates non-Sangheili troopers to the point of them recently outnumbering the Sangheili ones. Types of Tridents Infantry tridents Vehicular tridents Special Warfare tridents The rarity of tridents plays in the Covenant's favor, as most UNSC forces expect Covenant Special Operations to be lance-size, causing them to take the bait of the appearance of group that small, only to be overwhelmed by the appearance of the rest of the team, which usually remains cloaked and gives the appearance that it was the lance that defeated the human team. Martial tridents Notable Tridents The Trident of Querious Courage The Trident of the Enlightening Journey The Trident of Trial and Triumph The Trident of Revelation